Keeping the Future Close
by Kurenai Onimori
Summary: AU. NaruHina mainly. M to be safe. After 3 years of training, Naruto is back and ready for the chunin exams! Among new suprises and genin awaiting his return, he finally finds love in Hinata and friendship in a boy who knows more than he's letting on.
1. Prologue

Hello everybody!

This is my very first story! Woohoo! It's also the first time I've tried updating on a schedule, so don't freak out if the update time changes frequently.

Also, please don't hurt me if the story isn't completely canon; I'm leeching off one of my friends for information. Mainly because my mother won't let me sign up to or download from any of the sites that have the episodes. And, sadly, I don't like reading from right to left, which rules manga out.

So, after this brief disclaimer, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That wonderful universe belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Prologue: Right Place, Wrong Time.

The boy had just returned from a S-ranked recovery mission, and was taking what he found to his village's leader. He wondered just what powers this unusual artifact had. It looked like nothing more than a fist-sized pearl. It also had no signs of chakra around it, which added to the mystery. Why would the village need something like this so badly?

The boy was brought out of his thoughts, however, when he arrived at his destination: the Hokage's mansion.

He entered the gigantic structure and headed for the Hokage's quarters. When he came to the door, he knocked until someone answered.

"Come in," a voice said.

He did, and was greeted by the sight of his father.

"Well, hello there, son! Did the mission go well?" he asked, filled with joy at his son's return.

"Yes, father, though I still don't know why you need something like this." the boy replied as he pulled out the pearl from his pocket.

As if on cue, the pearl emitted a bright flash of light. Afterwards, it disappeared, taking the boy with it.

* * *

Tsunade had just finished her paperwork for the day and, frankly, she couldn't take anymore.

She was about to fall asleep on her desk when a bright flash filled the room. When it cleared, there stood a boy with red, silver-tipped, spiky hair, and mirror-shades so that you couldn't see his eyes. He also wore a black vest over a long-sleeved red shirt, black and white camouflage jeans, red sandals, and a Konoha forehead protecter. He was also holding a fist-sized pearl.

The boy took one look at Tsunade and exclaimed, "Oh, crap!".

* * *

Well, thats the prologue. R&R.

Author's Note: This is a prologue. The actual story takes place when Naruto is coming back to Konoha after the time skip, which is one week after the prologue ends.


	2. Chapter 1

Hello again!

Sorry for the wait, I had writer's block in addition to everything else in my schedule.

A big thank you to Bullwinkle's Lady and Sphyma for all their help with Keeping the Future Close, of which this is the official first chapter.

Before I get to the disclaimer, there are a few things that you should know:

1. All canon characters are in their default outfits for after the time skip for two reasons. The first is that I'm a lazy bum. The second is that I don't have the mental capability to describe such strange garb, as you could probably tell from the prologue.

2. This is an AU fic for a reason. Some things that are normally impossible will be possible, such as that fist-sized pearl I mentioned in the prologue.

3. As I have probably mentioned, my schedule sucks. Please bear with me; I want this story to be good. That takes patience, dedication and time. As my friends would say, "It is much easier to write bad fanfiction than it is to write good fanfiction.".

Now that that's done, after the disclaimer, to the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That wonderful universe belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter One: The Return of Uzumaki Naruto!

It was a beautiful day in Konoha. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the flowers were in full bloom. This was a day to be remembered.

And yet, for one person, none of it seemed to matter. For one person, it could be snowing in July for all he cared. For one person, the only thing in the world that mattered right now was the fact that he was returning to his village. The very village he swore to protect with his life.

That person's name was Uzumaki Naruto... who had just tripped over a rock.

"Ow," he exclaimed as he picked himself up from the dirt-covered road that was leading him to his destination.

His sensei, the legendary toad hermit Jiraiya, chuckled as he said, "You're hopeless, kid. You've been training for three years and your still as clumsy as ever.".

Naruto decided to ignore the perverted sannin's comment and continue walking along the path. The two men eventually came to a halt as they reached the gates to Konoha, which were open. The pair continued through the gates, ignoring the guards' looks of disbelief. They weren't two yards into the village when Naruto decided to make a mad dash for his favorite ramen stand, Ichiraku's. After all, he hadn't had ramen nearly that good in three years. He came to a screeching halt when he arrived and entered to find someone else there, someone who he didn't recognize. He had spiky red hair, which was tipped with a hint of silver, and was wearing a black vest over a long-sleeved red shirt, black and white camouflage jeans that were a bit baggy, and red sandals. Naruto stopped for a split-second as he felt that he should know this person. He quickly shrugged it off and went to order as he sat down.

"Teuchi-san, I'll have three of everything,".

Naruto turned to look at the new guy who had said exactly what he said and saw that he was now staring at the blonde boy through his mirror-like sunglasses.

"You wanna see who can finish first?" the boy asked.

"You know it!" Naruto replied confidently.

* * *

After about fifteen minutes, Jiraiya finally tracked Naruto down to Ichiraku's Ramen, where he was greeted by an amusing, yet slightly disturbing sight. Naruto and someone else he had never seen before were _each_ on their thirty-third bowl of ramen. They also seemed to be racing. They quickly finished at the exact same time and yelled "Done!" in stereo.

"Wow, and I thought I loved ramen! I guess it's a draw." Naruto exclaimed, secretly glad that he wasn't the only one with his appetite.

"I guess it is," the boy agreed. He then asked the question he had forgotten to ask earlier, "What your name? Mine's Takeshi.".

They were jolted out of their conversation when a certain white-haired pervert said, "His name is Uzumaki Naruto and he needs to report to Tsunade's office A.S.A.P.!".

"Don't do that Ero-sennin, you almost scared the ramen outta me!" Naruto shouted.

"That would be a miracle. Now come on! You know how she gets when people are late." Jiraiya replied, once again angered by the fact that Naruto had called him Ero-sennin.

"Good point. Well, see you later, Takeshi!" Naruto yelled to the boy as he made his way to the Hokage's mansion with Jiraiya.

Takeshi waved at the departing two, then turned toward a nearby telephone pole where a lavender-eyed girl was watching from a distance. Deciding that it was now or never, he shouted, "You, behind the telephone pole! I know you're there, so come on out!".

* * *

Hinata was not prepared for Naruto's return. The shy Hyuuga girl's crush for the blonde boy had not diminished in his absence. If anything, it had intensified. There was no mistaking it; she was truly in love with him. But, still being shy, she couldn't approach him, much less talk to him, without fainting. So she hid, like she always did. She was really getting tired of missed chances. She was about to walk away, marking off yet another failed attempt, when she heard a voice from outside the ramen stand.

"You, behind the telephone pole! I know you're there, so come on out!" the boy known as Takeshi had found her out. She somehow did not faint and walked out from her hiding place.

"H-h-how did y-you know I was there?" Hinata asked with her usual stutter. There was something familier about this boy, but she couldn't place it.

"First, let me ask you something. Why haven't you told him yet?" the strange boy asked, knowing exactly why she was there.

This question shocked Hinata. How did he know? Now blushing heavily, she opened her mouth, but no words came out. Takeshi noticed his own slip of the tongue, and decided it was too late to remedy the situation. So instead, he said, "Look, I know you're in love with Naruto, and I'll let you in on a secret of mine that will help you gather the courage to tell him, but you have to keep it an absolute secret, ok?".

Hinata nodded, now curious as to what his secret was, and how it could help her. She followed him to a secret location outside of Konoha, where Takeshi began to remove his glasses.

* * *

Yay, cliffhanger! Sorry, but those of you who didn't already figure it out have to wait until later. And I don't mean later as in next chapter. Please don't hurt me! I'm only trying to add suspense. Think of it as something to look forward to as the story unfolds.

And I'm sorry if I got Teuchi's name wrong; they didn't have it on wiki.

Sanity is overrated!

Kurenai Onimori


	3. Chapter 2

Hello again!

Yay! Chapter 2 is up!

Thank you to all of those who cared to review and to everyone on the Naruto Fanfiction Sharing forum, especially to Bullwinkle's Lady, Sphyma, and clockwork starlight.

Now the disclaimer. Then the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That wonderful universe belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter Two: A Reunion of Old Friends.

Naruto and Jiraiya were walking to Tsunade's office. They were silent for about five minutes until Jiraiya decided to say something to the blonde boy.

"That was an amazing sight you two treated me to," he said, remembering the boys' competition at the ramen shop, "It's hard to believe that there's someone else with your appetite.".

"Yeah, though I'm grateful for the fact that I'm not the only one." Naruto replied.

They were interrupted when a familiar voice called out to them, "Hey Boss, over here!".

Naruto turned to see none other than Konohamaru, along with his friends Moegi and Udon. They seemed to have grown up, since Konohamaru didn't greet Naruto with the Oiroke no Jutsu. Behind them was Ebisu, apparently their jounin instructor. Naruto smiled as he walked to over to greet them.

"Hey, Konohamaru! Long time, no see!" he said, shaking the kid's hand.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Konohamaru replied, happy to see his friend again.

Naruto then turned toward Ebisu, who had been smiling at the two of them.

"So where are you guys headed?" Naruto asked curiously.

"We were ordered by Hokage-sama to report to her office to wait for someone. I assume she was talking about you." Ebisu replied.

"Probably, since we were heading there as well." Jiraiya said finally. He wanted to ask why Konohamaru had called Naruto 'Boss', but decided it wasn't important.

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go!" Naruto shouted as he started running toward the Hokage's mansion.

"Wait up, Boss!" Konohamaru yelled as he and his friends took off after him.

Jiraiya and Ebisu just shook their heads as they ran to catch up with the four.

* * *

Hinata was deep in thought as she walked toward the Hokage's office, contemplating what she had just heard from Takeshi. It was a lot to take in, to say the least. She knew it was true, though, because he had provided the proper proof, but she didn't know what he was planning. All Takeshi had told her was to tell Tsunade that she now knew the truth. He had also told her that when she finally confessed to Naruto, who he assured her would return her feelings, not to tell him. She was brought out of her many thoughts, however, when she saw Shino and Hanabi at the door of the Hyuuga compound, who looked like they were waiting for her. Hinata's sister and the mysterious kikaichu host saw Hinata and walked up to her, Shino's face as emotionless as ever.

"What are you guys doing here?" Hinata asked.

"Waiting for you, we have orders from Hokage-sama to report to her office." Shino replied as he, without another word, started toward the Hokage's mansion.

Hinata and Hanabi sighed as they followed him, wondering how someone could be so lacking in personality.

* * *

Ebisu and Jiraiya eventually caught up with their students, and were now at their destination. They made their way to Tsunade's office and Naruto, for once, knocked.

"Come in," Tsunade said. She was shocked for a moment as Naruto, along with Jiraiya, as well as Ebisu's team, entered the room. Tears threatened to escape her eyes as she saw how much Naruto had grown. Naruto noticed this and decided to speak.

"What's wrong, Tsunade? Did you run outta stuff to drink?" he joked. Tsunade was about to hit him when she caught the fact that this time he didn't call her 'Granny Tsunade'. So instead, she gave him a big, bone-crunching hug.

"Tsunade... can't... breathe..." Naruto choked out. Tsunade heard this and quickly let go, causing the blonde boy to gasp for air.

"Sorry, I just can't believe how much you've grown." Tsunade said as she went back to her desk and sat down.

* * *

About five minutes later, another knock came from the door, and it opened to reveal a tall, slender man with short black hair, which was draped over the right side of his face, completely covering his eye. The eye that you could see was a deep purple, and he had an annoyed expression on his face. He wore an open red leather jacket that only had one sleeve that ran down his left arm, while his right arm was covered in black tribal tattoos. He also wore black leather pants with matching shoes. He walked to the corner of the room and sat down on the couch, keeping his look of irritation and ignoring everyone else.

"Who's that guy?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade.

"Apparently another survivor of the Kaguya clan massacre in Kirigakure. He actually fought his own clan. His name is Kosshi." Tsunade answered.

"Kaguya, huh? In that case, we need to keep an eye on him." Jiraiya whispered back thoughtfully.

* * *

Another ten minutes passed as two more groups arrived, including Hinata and her little sister Hanabi, as well as Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, and Takeshi. Everyone greeted Naruto, surprised that he had returned, and, after fifteen minutes of chatting, were now silently waiting in the office.

Naruto was getting impatient, however, and was the first to break the silence.

"Tsunade, what are we waiting for?" Naruto asked.

"You'll see, Naruto. Be patient." was all that the busty Hokage said.

"But we've been here for half an hour, and I'm hungry!" Naruto complained.

"Do you ever stop whining, dobe?" a familiar male voice said. Naruto turned to the door in shock, knowing that there was only one man who had ever called him 'dobe'.

That man's name was Uchiha Sasuke.

The raven-haired boy was standing in the doorway, a genuine smile on his face. With him was a very large man with spiky orange hair and brown eyes, a man with short white hair, blue eyes and shark-like teeth, who was apparently carrying Samehada, and a woman with red eyes and red hair that was in an unusual style: short and unkempt on one side and long and combed on the other. Ino was shooting a death glare at the woman.

Naruto's shock quickly changed to joy as he yelled, "You're back!".

"I've been back for a year and a half now." Sasuke smirked before he asked, "Where were you?".

"I've been training. It's good to have you back!" Naruto replied.

"It's good to be back. By the way, the big guy is Jugo, the girl is Karin, and the man with the sword is Suigetsu. Everyone, this is Naruto." Sasuke said as he pointed to the members of his group.

At this point Tsunade stood up and said, "Sorry to interrupt this little reunion, but now that everyone is here, I have an announcement!".

* * *

And that's chapter two. Now for a little explaining: This is AU for a reason. Six months after Naruto first left for his three year training trip with Jiraiya, Orochimaru attempted to take Sasuke's body. Needless to say, he failed. Six months after that both Itachi and Kisame were killed by Sasuke and Suigetsu, respectively. Samehada then acknowledged Suigetsu as it's new master, and Suigetsu took it to replace Zabuza's sword, which is now back at his gravesite. Six months later, Sasuke returned, along with Team Hebi, to Konoha.

Don't forget to R&R.

Sanity is overrated!

Kurenai Onimori


	4. Chapter 3

Hello again!

I'm not dead! Yes I know it's painfully late, and I know it's just a rewrite, but look at my profile and you'll see why. My schedule still sucks though, but it should not have taken this long. I'm sorry.

There will be some OOC spots in this chapter, so please bare with me. Anyway, to the story!

But first, to the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. That wonderful universe belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter Three: Announcement! The Chuunin Exams Approach!

Everyone went silent as they waited to hear what Tsunade had to say.

"As you all know, Naruto is back in Konoha. That bumps the village's number of genin up to sixteen." Tsunade paused in order to let that sink in before she continued.

"Thus I have entered you all in the upcoming chunin exams!" she had to cover her ears as the room erupted in cheers. When the noise died down, she said, "However, since Naruto just got back, I am forced to once again explain the changes that have been made in the time that Naruto has been gone. First, the number of people on each team during parts one and two has been increased to four. On that note, I would like to introduce two new participants. Please come forward, you two.".

Takeshi, who instead of a black vest, was now wearing a vest that matched his black-and-white camouflage pants, stepped forward and introduced himself, saying, "Hello, my name is Takeshi. My hobbies are training, listening to music, and, occasionally, playing pranks on people that deserve it.". Takeshi then walked back into the crowd, taking a spot somewhere in the center.

Kosshi then stood up and, with an expression on his face that clearly conveyed the question 'Do I have to?', introduced himself.

"I'm Kaguya Kosshi. Yeah, I know my clan's extinct. That's 'cause I'm the only one who had sense enough to take the winning side. I ain't barbaric like the rest of my clan. Though I'm now a Konoha genin, I retain strong connections with Kirigakure, my home village. Anyway, pray that you don't have to fight me, 'cause I can be very sadistic.". And without another word, Kosshi then sat back down on the couch, relieved that his part was over. Tsunade was beginning to twitch at Kosshi's lack of respect.

Tsunade managed to keep her cool, for now, and decided it was time to assign the teams.

"Now that the introductions are complete, I'll assign you all to your teams. The first team will consist of Jugo, Karin, Hozuki Suigetsu, and Uchiha Sasuke. The second team will contain Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Aburame Shino. The third team will be filled with Udon, Moegi, Konohamaru, and Hyuuga Hanabi. The fourth and final team will be filled by the remaining genin: Kaguya Kosshi, Takeshi, Uzumaki Naruto, and Hyuuga Hinata." she explained, noticing the blush on Hinata's face, probably at the fact that she was going to be on the same team as Naruto. Tsunade paused so that the information could sink in, then asked, "Any questions?".

At everyone's silence, she said, "You have one week to prepare. Dismissed!". And with that, everybody left except for Hinata, who looked nervous. Tsunade decided to ask her the obvious question.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" she asked, already having an idea of what exactly was on her mind.

"I know the truth about Takeshi." Hinata replied. The blond Hokage just sighed. That boy must be in a hurry to have already told Hinata.

"OK, Takeshi told me to tell you to shadow Naruto, and see what he does. Can you handle that?" Tsunade asked. She knew that the shy Hyuuga had probably been doing that for a long time, but, to be safe, she asked anyway.

"Hai." was all that Hinata said before she was out the door. Tsunade just shook her head, which, at that moment, contained only one thought.

_'I need a drink.'_

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke were now walking around by themselves, having split from the others. Naruto had asked the boy something along the lines of 'What took you so long', and Sasuke preceded into a long, drawn out story of his adventures with his team, as well as some of the 'quirks' that they had, including Suigetsu's obsession with legendary weapons and Karin's obsession with Sasuke.

"So that's why Ino was glaring death at Karin." Naruto said.

"Yeah, sad isn't it? Now I've got three crazy girls after me, and none of them will take no for an answer." The raven-haired boy sighed, "Sometimes I wish I had stayed with Orochimaru.". Suddenly, Sasuke was knocked to the ground by Naruto's fist, with a shout of "Baka!" from the blond genin.

Sasuke got up and muttered something that could have almost been mistaken for an apology had it not been drowned out by the sheer anger of a certain pink-haired kunoichi.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed as she charged at him. Naruto got out a cry of "Sakura-chan?!" before he took a punch to the face that knocked him to the ground with such force that it shook on impact. Then Sakura proceeded to lash out at him with hateful words.

"Don't 'Sakura-chan?!' me! I don't see you for three years and the first thing you do when you get back is punch Sasuke-kun?! How can you be such a monster?!" Naruto flinched as his old label left her mouth, but she wasn't done yet.

"And on the subject of '-chan', when are you going to get it through your thick skull?! I DON'T LIKE YOU! I have never liked you! You're annoying, you're clumsy, and worst of all, YOU'RE STUPID! So do us all a favor! Take a hike! Go away! Get out of our lives! How many times do I have to say it, Naruto?! GO DIE!" Sakura continued on after that, but Naruto wasn't listening anymore, for all he could hear was the Kyuubi's voice in his mind before everything faded to red.

**'The seal has been weakening ever since it's placement. The next time you lose control will also be the last.'**

* * *

Somewhere in the village, Takeshi looked up as he felt a surge of demonic power. As an old presence stirred in his mind, he headed for Tsunade's office, thinking one thing, and one thing only.

_'The Time of Binding is at hand. I'm glad I brushed up on history before I got stuck here.'_

* * *

Well that's the rewrite. Just so we're clear, I love stories where there is a mysterious character who knows what's to come and SEEMS almighty, but for the record, no one is perfect. Takeshi may seem like a Gary Sue, and maybe he is, but remember, he's not supposed to be in that time frame. A knife can be deadlier than a gun if the knife-wielder has more experience than the gun-wielder. By overpowering Takeshi I'm establishing the fact that he has more experience than the characters in that time frame.

Anyway, R&R. I'll try not to be so late next time.

Sanity is overrated!

Kurenai Onimori

* * *


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